Do adolescents with eating disorder not otherwise specified or full‐syndrome bulimia nervosa differ in clinical severity, comorbidity, risk factors, treatment outcome or cost?

Abstract

Objective: We wanted to know whether adolescents with eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) differ from those with bulimia nervosa (BN) in clinical features, comorbidity, risk factors, treatment outcome or cost. Method: Adolescents with EDNOS (n = 24) or BN (n = 61) took part in a trial of family therapy versus guided self‐care. At baseline, eating disorder symptoms, risk factors, and costs were assessed by interview. Patients were reinterviewed at 6 and 12 months. Results: Compared with EDNOS, BN patients binged, vomited and purged significantly more, and were more preoccupied with food. Those with EDNOS had more depression and had more current and childhood obsessive‐compulsive disorder. 66.6% of EDNOS versus 27.8% of BN patients were abstinent from bingeing and vomiting at 1 year. Diagnosis did not moderate treatment outcome. Costs did not differ between groups. Conclusion: EDNOS in adolescents is not trival. It has milder eating disorder symptoms but more comorbidity than BN. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2008